Back in session, the New York State Senate yesterday unanimously (62-0) passed all the planks of the Women’s Equalty Act (WEA) except for one — the controversial abortion expansion bill.

These same measures — including pay equality, curtailing pregnancy discrimination in the workplace, aid for victims of domestic violence, and strengthening laws against sex trafficking — passed the Senate last spring, but never became law because the House refused to consider them without also voting on the abortion legislation.

Now, again, the WEA will return to the House, where pro-abortion forces are pressuring the legislators not to vote on the bills passed by the Senate, but to hold out for the full package containing those bills plus the abortion expansion “10th point.”

It will be interesting to see what Governor Cuomo, who strongly supported the full WEA agenda in his State of the Union address last year, will say in his speech next week.

Senate Majority Leader and Coalition Co-Leader Dean Skelos (R) said in a statement supporting the passage of the non-abortion-related measures: “It is a new year and time to put progress over politics by passing effective measures that provide women with the protections they need and the opportunities they deserve.

For more about this, see Equality Clash Redux (The Times Union)

NYS Senate Passes Women’s Equality Package (Press release from the NY Senate)